Dearest Person
by SilverSeas
Summary: The HiME's are kidnapped by Nagi and must find out who their dearest people are and go on an adventure to find them. Mainly Akira/Takumi. Little of ShizNat, Maikoto and others.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone!! So, this is a multi-chapter story with a little bit of each of the HiME's. I'm not sure how long it'll be or exactly where I'm going with this, but I have the first few chapters planned, so we'll just see where this ends up :).

_Info:_

I do not own Mai-HiME or any of the characters from that anime (as much as I wish I did!!)

The main pairing in this will be Akira/Takumi, though other couples will be included! Like I plan a little Mai/Mikoto and ShizNat. Also, I plan to have Nao as a minor character, just cause she's awesome 8). Just know that each HiME will make an appearance at some point in the story, so don't freak too much if your fave isn't in the first chapter :P.

_Summary:The HiME's are kidnapped by Nagi and are sent on a mission to find their dearest person. But will they succeed in time?_

Ok, bad summary, but like I said, I'm not too sure where I'm going with this so there's no in-depth summary really.

Well, on to the first chapter!!!

* * *

**Chapter 1.**

Akira opened the oak wood double doors to her room. The room contains rather over-sized furniture for such a small individual. In the center of the bedroom is a large four-poster king size bed with a short step stool reaching towards the top of it. Upon this bed are fluffy covers made of white silk and giant goose-feather pillows. To the side of the extravagant bed sit two glass double doors, which swing open to reveal a white balcony with a magnificent view of the world surrounding the area.

Certainly, a very valuable living place.

Miss Okuzaki pays no mind to her stunning surroundings though, having occupied its walls for all of her 12 years of living. It's not that she isn't grateful for her family's wealth, it's simply the fact that the kunoichi is familiar with the extravagance of it all and it has lost its breathtaking impression on her. On top of that fact, the raven-haired girl just spent the whole day exercising and training vigorously, which had finally caught up with her and made her quite exhausted.

As Akira entered the room, she wastes no time in heading directly to the tall bed. Climbing the mini staircase, the young woman proceeds to flop on top of the softness of the mattress.

Sleep overtakes her.

* * *

A minute passed. Or maybe it was an hour, two hours, a night, a day? Akira isn't sure; all she knows is that she is not the single occupant of the room.

And, strangely enough, she awoke in a different room then the one she fell asleep in. Finally absorbing this thought, Akira jolts upright and starts to frantically scan the chamber with her wide brown eyes.

Panic rises in the young lady's chest when she fails to recognize the place at all. "What's happening?" she asks softly to her confused self.

"You're in the land of Fuka," an unfamiliar voice answers the young ninja's question. Startled, Akira whirls her head around to find the source of the voice.

Rising from her sleeping area, Akira summons a weapon to her side. "Who're you?" she accusingly interrogates the man.

"Before I answer that," the shadowed figure starts, "let me tell you who you are."

Akira Okuzaki raises an eyebrow at the peculiar statement. "I know who I am," she says. "Who are you?" the tomboy repeats.

The man in the darkness shakes his head lightly. "Aren't you curious as to how I know who you are?"

"You don't know who I am," the girl with the weapon in her hand answers. "This must be some sort of sick trick of yours. Whoever you are, a murderer, kidnapper, whatever, you don't know me and I don't know you…. Who are you, and what do you plan to do?"

The man laughs at Akira's explanation. "Murderer," he snorts. "No, my dear. No, Akira-Hime; I am not a kidnapper or murderer of any sorts."

"Then _what_ are you?" Akira snarls at the mysterious person before her.

"Let me finish," the man says. "I'm a person who knows what you know not. I know who you are, what you are, your background and past… and your future and destiny.

"I know what you're to do. I know that you'll accept my offer. You'll emerge as one of the twelve maidens I will gather here."

"What the hell are you blabbering about?" the now frightened girl asks. "What garbage story are you telling me?"

"This is no garbage, oh youngest Hime," the shady figure replies. "I shall explain in more depth once the others arrive," with that, the man turns and starts to retreat.

"Where're you going?" Akira hollers. "I'm not letting you out of my sight until you explain yourself! Who're the 'others'? Why am I here? How do you know me? Why do you keep calling me 'Hime'?"

A smirk appears on the man's pale face. "All in good time, my dear little Hime," in a flash, the man disappears.

Akira felt her knees buckle and hit the dirt ground. She shakes her head lightly; her eyes still placed on the location where the mysterious figure had evaporated. It takes the young woman a few moments to realize what is clasped so tightly in her palm. Looking down, she sees the weapon. Scared, Akira flings it across the room, only to see it disappear as well.

"What's going on?" the puzzled teen asks herself once again.

At that moment another figure, this time lying on the ground, magically appears in the stuffy little room.

Startled at the sudden appearance, Akira finds the weapon in her reach again, and grasps it firmly in her hand. The kunoichi had the intention of interrogating the newcomer, as she had done to the strange man before. However, she decides differently when she sees that the new occupant of the room is asleep.

Akira continues to gaze at the still figure. The young woman has orange like hair and a rather large chest. Akira stares curiously at the tall teenager lying on the floor as her chest rises and falls in time with her even breaths.

"Does this guy just kidnap girls in their sleep?" Akira asks herself. Quite disgusted at the thought, the tomboy shakes violently, knocking over a nearby bucket in the process and creating a bit of a ruckus. The sleeping lady stirs at the sound, and Akira hopes that she will awake, just so she can explain what the mysterious man said and try to devise a plan with the newcomer to escape.

Before anything else happens, though, another girl materializes into the dungeon. This girl is conscious and has black spiky hair in two braided pigtails. The cat-like girl had materialized sitting on top of the ginger. Her yellow eyes scan the room and soon her head cocks to the side in confusion and puzzlement. "Where am I?" the innocent looking child asks Akira.

Akira shakes her head slightly. "I honestly have no idea," she replies. Then, looking into the yellow eyes of the cat-girl, the kunoichi asks, "Do you know why we're here?"

This time, it is the pig-tailed girl's turn to shake her head. "I'm Mikoto!" she exclaims. "What's your name?"

Akira stares blankly at the girl sitting on top of the red head. "How does she not wake up?" Akira thought to herself. Shrugging this thought off, she answers, "Akira Okuzaki."

Mikoto nods eagerly. "MAI!!!" she then shouts at the top of her lungs. Jumping up and down on the sleeping girl below her, Mikoto starts to repeat herself. "Mai! Mai! Mai! Wake up! Where are we?!"

The girl on the floor (who Akira presumed to be Mai) groans as she stirs once more. "What do you mean, Mikoto? We're at home. Go back to sleep."

"No, we're not, Mai," Mikoto responds to her larger friend. "We're in some sort of dungeon with this girl, Akira!" Mikoto points to the corner where Akira stands.

Mai awakes at this statement. "EH?!?!" she exclaims. Jolting up (and knocking Mikoto over in the process), Mai searches frantically about the room until her eyes settle on Akira. Standing up and backing herself away into the opposite corner, Mai starts to speak towards Akira. "What do you want with us?!" she screeches.

Akira holds up her hands defensively. "I don't want anything to do with you two!" she states earnestly. "I'm just as bemused as you, I haven't got a clue as to where we are!"

At that moment, an additional nine young woman magically appear into the damp room. Twelve pairs of heads look about their surroundings and try to decipher what just happened.

"What the hell is this about?" a teen with blue hair demands angrily.

Another voice (much softer and scared then the blunette) adds in, "I don't recognize this place at all…."

Many more whispers and various comments are heard about the group. One voice is heard clearly, though, from a red head with green eyes. "This is like in that story!" the woman exclaims, intrigued. "We're to be sent on a mission!"

Another girl with red hair, who was rather thin, responds to the enthusiastic lady. "We're on no mission," she states grumpily. "We've been kidnapped, idiot."

"Actually," the same mysterious voice from before booms, "Midori-chan was not too far off with her guess."

"You, again!" Akira proclaims. "Where are you and what do you want?"

"Again?" a few of the women around the room question.

"Patience, Akira-kun. You all will get answers soon enough." The man smirks at the hostages before him. "I am Nagi, and I will tell you your task. Listen very closely to this poem," Nagi then clears his throat before reciting a well-memorized poem.

"_Most of you already know_

_Your dearest person from long ago._

_For one of you, you haven't met_

_Your dearest person as of yet._

_For four of you, it's plain to see_

_Your dearest is beside you and me._

_These hints I've given you, my dears, are real._

_You can't deny the feelings you feel. _

_By the stroke of midnight, your hands must touch,_

_Or you and your dearest will turn to slush. _

_Now, for details; the loner, you see_

_Is the one who hasn't met her dearest, her 'Honey'. _

_Colors of brown, red, black, and blue_

_Are the ones who's dearest's are in this room._

_The two that came together,_

_Will be dearests forever and ever. _

_For the rest of you,_

_I don't know what to say._

_Go and re find your dears_

_By the start of the next day. "_

Nagi smirks again when he sees the Himes' vacant or bemused expressions. "Questions?" he asks the crowd. "And feel free to compliment the poem, I wrote it myself!"

"What the hell is this all about?" the rude red head from before doesn't hesitate to ask.

"Excellent question, Nao-Hime," the albino man says.

"Wait, how do you know my name?" Nao questions accusingly.

"One question at a time, please," the lone man in the room requests. "I suppose I better explain a bit for you ladies," Nagi continued, jumping onto a nearby table. "You are all himes. 'What's a hime?' you may ask. Well, technically, a hime is a princess. However, the HiME I'm talking about is an acronym for 'Highly Advanced Materializing Equipment'. In a sense, you girls are fighting machines.

"The role of a HiME is to guard and protect the person who she loves the most. This is your dearest person. If you listened to my poem, you should know that most of you already know your dearest person, and one of you hasn't a clue, though you don't know that you don't know because you've never met your dearest person yet." Nagi paused for a minute, allowing the information to sink into the young women's heads. "That may not make sense to you, but it will be understandable eventually."

"So what are we supposed to do right now?" a woman with a thick Kyoto accent asks. "Find our dearest person and spend the rest of our lives together?"

"Not quite, Miss Shizuru," Nagi states. "As of this time, your goal is simply to find your dearest person. If you fail to do this by tomorrow at the stroke of midnight, then you are already out of the running for the HiME Carnival."

"Carnival?" a nun asks, who is standing next to Shizuru.

"Oh right, silly me!" Nagi exclaims. "The HiME Carnival is an event where all the HiME's battle each other. If a HiME looses to another HiME, then the loser's child and dearest person die."

"Child?!" a brunette girl with her hair tied back shrieks. "We-we're supposed to have a ba-baby?!"she questions, alarmed, pointing to her stomach.

Nagi shakes his head, "I guess I really didn't think this through too well," he states. "A child is a HiME's beast, but it's on the HiME's side. Your Child fights for you, and its soul is connected to the soul of your most loved individual. If your child dies, your dearest person dies. You do not, however, give birth to your child, so you don't need to worry about getting fat," Nagi teases.

"What's the reward for beating all of the other participants in the Carnival?" a young looking child with pink octopus-like hair asks.

Nagi shrugs his shoulders. "The winner basically saves the world," he explained, as if it was no big deal. "Now, if there are no further questions, my dears, I believe that you should start figuring out who your dearest person is and go find them, as of now, you have exactly 24 hours." With that, Nagi dissipates into thin air.

All of the HiME's stare at each other, wide-eyed and gaping

* * *

So, are you guys interested in me continuing? Comments and critiques are wanted!! Tell me what you think! Ideas are accepted too, if you want ;).


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Silence penetrated through the stone walls of the dark chamber. HiME glanced upon HiME, as if asking one another what should be done. Finally, Mai broke the silence with a suggestion. "Perhaps we should brainstorm some of our favorite people and then compare them to find out who's who in that poem?" Most heads in the room nodded in approval, though a few showed their doubts. Nevertheless, papers and pens were passed around and each woman started listing their dearest person candidates.

Akira observed as most of the HiME's wrote down names at great speeds, wanting to save time and hurry to their dearest person. Two whole minutes had passed and the kunoichi had only one name written upon her sheet. That name belonged to her father. For some reason though, Akira didn't feel that the man was truly her dearest person, she had just felt compelled to include him on her piece of scrap paper.

Out of nowhere, the enthusiastic red head from before started to make a speech. "Friends," she said, "today must be the mark of a historic event…. We are HiME's and for that, I believe that we should be proud! As we are all on the same boat as of now, I declare that we all form an alliance, or a pact if you will, and take an oath to stand by each other and guide each fellow HiME through this process!" the woman stared about her audience, as if anticipating applause.

Crickets could be heard from elsewhere in the dungeon. A shy girl with glasses and brown hair spoke up softly. "Perhaps introductions would be better?" at that comment, everyone agreed and introductions were made.

The speech-maker went first. "I am Midori Sugiura! I am going to be a super heroine of justice!"

The names continued around the circle. Sitting besides Midori was the blunette. "Natsuki," she said curtly.

"Shizuru Fujino."

"Shiho Munakata."

"MIKOTO! And this is Mai!"

Mai waved bashfully, "Last name's Tokiha," she clarified.

"Fumi Himeno," a lady with short, wavy, pink hair smiled pleasantly.

"Nao. And I ain't forming no pact," said the rude red head from earlier.

The girl, who had suggested the introductions, spoke now, "Yukino Kikukawa."

"Yukariko. Though, you may call me 'Sister'," said the nun.

"Akane!" said the girl who had panicked when they were first told about the child's.

Akira was the last to speak. "Okuzaki, Akira," she stated. "And, despite Nagi's suffix from before, I'm a girl, ok? Not a boy. Well, obviously I'm not a boy because then I wouldn't be a HiME." Akira received a few strange stares after her ramble, though she tried to avoid the attention she was receiving by starting a new topic for discussion. "Well," she said. "Umm, did everyone write something down?"

"I did!!!!!" Mikoto announced. "My dearest person is Mai!!!! I like Mai because of her ramen!" Mai blushed the shade of a peach at Mikoto's enthusiasm.

"My dearest person is Mikoto," the blushing red head stated then.

"Wait a minute," Natsuki interrupted. "Did you two arrive together?" After two heads nodded, Natsuki continued her explanation. "Then that solves part of the riddle. You two are the ones who came together, so you're each other's dearest person. I guess that also means that you're two of the four whose favorite person is another HiME." Natsuki leaned back on the palms of her hands and stared up at the ceiling in thought. "I suppose you two would be the black and red that were mentioned in the poem. Nagi had also said brown and blue, right? Well, I'm the only blunette in here, so my dearest person must be another person in here… and that person has to have brown hair…."

A thick Kyoto accent filled the room. "Well, Natsuki, there are at least four brunettes in this room, myself included. Perhaps we should hear who everyone thinks their honey is and then decide from there who you belong to."

"I'll go first," Akane volunteered. "I know for a fact that my dearest person is Kazu-kun, my boyfriend. I'm sorry, Natsuki-san, but I cannot be your dearest person."

The Sister spoke next. "As shameful as I am to admit this," she started, "I believe that I have been smitten with a teacher that I work with… he's my dearest person." The nun's body shook as she spoke, tears threatening to fall.

Yukino adjusted the glasses on her face. "I have a dear friend back home. She has always stood up for me and guided me. I admire her for her bravery and honesty… and I do believe that she is my dearest person…." Yukino glanced away from the group, slightly embarrassed.

"Well, Natsuki," Shizuru said. "Looks like I'm your dearest person!"

Natsuki appeared a little freaked out (or scared?) from the Kyoto girl's willingness to be her dearest person. "B-but I barely know you!" the blushing blunette protested as Shizuru stepped toward her, expecting a hug.

"Well," the teasing HiME said, "We have 24 hours to get to know each other… let's see how things develop between now and then." With that, Miss Fujino led Natsuki away to a secluded corner of the basement.

"Ok," Midori chimed in. "Two of the couples have been settled. We should next try to find out who the loner is."

"Raise your hand if you think you're a loner!" Mikoto commanded. No hands were lifted into the air, as no one wanted to admit herself as a loner.

"Ok, let's rephrase that," Midori suggested, trying to regain control of the situation. "Raise your hand if you feel as if you don't have a dearest person." Nobody moved for a while.

During that short while, Akira debated whether or not to raise her hand. She loved her father a great deal, but he just didn't seem like he was her dearest person. After some careful thinking, the ninja bashfully lifted her arm over her head to acknowledge herself as the outcast.

Nao scoffed. "I knew it," she said. "It's common sense for the loner to be the he/she".

Akira's eyes narrowed at the vicious red head. "TAKE THAT BACK YOU PIN HEAD!" she threatened, summoning the weapon from before into her hand.

"Make me," Nao dared. At those words, Akira started charging toward the spider-like girl, only to be forced back by Midori and the Sister.

"Don't go against the pact, Akira-san," Midori warned the struggling girl in her grasp.

Yukariko, taking a hold of Akira's other arm, started scolding the young kunoichi and telling her how attacking another person was a horrible sin (Author's Note: I'm not very religious or Catholic or whatever, so I don't really know if this is a sin, though I'm sure it's frowned upon). Akira, in her state of hot rage, didn't even try to listen to the two women restraining her. The raven-haired girl had all of her focus on the taunting devil just out of her reach.

Nao snickered. "What? You want to get me? Don't you want to know who your dearest person is? Do you think you'll even have a dearest person if they find out that you're trying to kill me?"

Akira stopped squirming at Nao's words. As much as she'd hate to admit it, the red headed HiME had a point. Would a murderer have a dearest person? Does even the most hated person in the world have a dearest person? Does someone's dearest person always have identical feelings? Akira fell to the floor.

Nao smirked. "You pretend to be so strong, but then you show us all your true self and collapse to the ground. Well, at least I don't need to worry about you stealing the winning title from me. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you were the first one to lose, not having a dearest person and all…."

"Quiet, Nao," Fumi cut off the string of harsh words from the red head. "As Miss Midori informed us before, we are all in the same boat. If one of us pushes another off of the boat, the rest will follow and the boat won't be able to function properly. We all need to be a team and support each other." Nao rolled her eyes but said nothing. Fumi then turned toward Akira, who was still kneeling on the cold floor. "Pay no mind to what Nao-san says, Akira-chan," Fumi said sweetly. "You do have a dearest person, and we will all help you find him or her." Akira smiled gratefully up at the pink-haired lady.

"Ok," Midori said, releasing her hold of Akira's arm. "We need to make a list of qualities that Miss Okuzaki admires in a person. Then, from those qualities, we need to match it to a person." Akira turned beet red in the face at this, not fully wanting to admit to these strangers what she likes in a person.

Midori pulled out a pencil and a sheet of scrap paper. Then, sitting in a nearby chair and placing Akira on a random couch that was there, she started talking to the ninja as if she were her patient and herself a psychiatrist. "So, Akira-chan," she started. "What gender should your dearest person be?"

"Uhh…" Akira said, nervously glancing around at all of the faces watching her.

"Do you like men or women?" Midori rephrased the question. Nao scoffed in the background.

"Umm…" Akira said, too petrified to talk at the moment.

It would have been much better if she opened her mouth though. "So, you are unsure of your sexuality?" Midori questioned. Some snickering could be heard.

"NO!" Akira finally spoke up.

Midori sighed. "Well, Akira-chan, I can't very well guess what you like, so you're gonna have to tell me. Pretend that the rest of them aren't here."

It was Akira's turn to sigh, defeated. "Men," she mumbled quietly, looking very intently at the floor beneath her feet.

"Ok," Midori exclaimed. "So her dearest person is probably male. This is good, we're getting somewhere." Midori made a note on her paper. "Ok, now, do you want your dearest person to be older, younger, or the same age as you. Technically, I'm asking if you are looking for some type of guardian, a person to care for, or a lover."

Akira felt her face get hot. She tried desperately to block out the few laughs she heard, but was unable to. "Uhh… well… I hate kids, so I guess no one younger then me…."

"Mhmm…" Midori nodded her head, making more notes on her sheet of paper. "So, you're looking for a guardian, or a lover?"

Akira gulped and winced at the mention of "lover". She then shook her head lightly. "I… feel that if my dearest person were older then me, then it would be my father… which I know that it is not…. So I guess my dearest person would be the same age as me…."

"Oooh," Midori whistled. "So our youngest HiME is looking for love… I see," Midori doodled some more on the paper before her. "Now…"

"Stop it with all of the questions!" Akira demanded. "I'll tell you what I want in my person! He should be kind, gentle, warm, loving, and sweet. He should be able to make me laugh, cry, and worried. My dearest person should smile a lot and be grateful for what he has. And in no form should he be a complainer!" Silence followed Akira's description of her dearest person.

"Hmm… you search for the impossible," Midori stated. "Men never have those qualities, that's why I love my Yohko…." Then, turning to the other girls, she asked, "Do any of you know a person with all of those qualities?" No one responded. Midori then faced Akira. "How old are you?" she asked.

Akira raised an eyebrow, confused at the red head's out-of-nowhere question. "Twelve," she replied.

Midori faced the rest of the room again. "Does anyone here know a boy who's about 12 years of age?"

All occupants in the room shook their head, except for Mai, that is, who answered Midori's question with a "yes." All eyes focused on the busty girl.

Mai shrugged. "My brother, Takumi, is twelve years old, he'll be thirteen in a few months. I don't know if he possesses all of the characteristics Akira-san described, but he is certainly kind and sweet," Mai nodded. "And he likes to cook too, but I don't know if that's relevant."

Midori turned back to Akira. "Sound like your guy?" she asked.

Akira shrugged her shoulders. Then, facing Mai, she asked, "Where could I find him?"


	3. Chapter 3

So sorry for the long wait, everyone!! Here's the next chapter, it's short but that's because it's pretty much a filler chapter. The next one will be longer and have more people in it, I promise!

Oh, and I think I may have made Akira a little out-of-character in this chapter, but just know that's she's tired/stressed so her personality was altered slightly. She'll be more like the Akira we know later. :)

* * *

**Chapter 3.**

One by one, different HiME's started departing from the dungeon-like area to search for their dearest person. Only Shizuru and Natsuki decided to remain behind, needing as much time as possible to become acquainted with one another. Mai and Mikoto, though they knew that their most loved person was the other, decided to retreat from the basement too. One main reason was simply that it was much too uncomfortable there. Other minor reasons included wanting to leave Natsuki and Shizuru to themselves and to aid Akira in her search for her dearest person, whom everyone hopes is Takumi.

Akira still has her doubts about picking a stranger as her dearest person. The kunoichi voiced her concerns to her travel partners. "What if this is a huge mistake?" she said. "What if your brother isn't destined to be my dearest person, and I'm distancing myself from my actual dearest person?"

Mai stared thoughtfully into space for a few brief moments. Eventually, she shrugged and said, "You might as well try. We have no other leads on who your dearest person could be. In addition to that, if Takumi really is your dearest person and you don't find him in time, then he'll... die… and that would surely crush me…."

Akira then had her answer. Takumi was the hopeful candidate as her dearest person because Mai didn't want to risk losing him. It seemed kind of selfish of the orange-head, to be honest, though Akira understood her angle and logic in the situation. Besides, Miss Okuzaki had only recently met all of these people, so it was hardly fair for her to judge them all. Well, except for maybe Nao….

Akira watched as Mikoto started sprinting across the grass on all fours, stopping to sniff an occasional dandelion. "Mai," the girl with the cat features said. "Are we even in Japan? How do we know where we are or where we're going?"

_Shit_ Akira thought to herself. Mikoto had a point. How the hell were they supposed to know where they were going?

"You are the first three to take notice of this," came the voice of Nagi. Mikoto's ears twitched at the sudden sound, like that of a dog, before the girl on her hands and knees turned around to face the albino man.

"So," Mai directed at Nagi, "Are we in Japan?"

Nagi smirked.

"Well?" Akira jumped in, impatient, "Are we?"

Nagi continued his smirking.

Akira truly lost it. "Look, buddy," she said, "As you know, we don't have a ton of time here. Can you just tell us where the fuck we are???"

Nagi raised an eyebrow at the twelve-year-old ninja. "Language, Okuzaki," he warned Akira, causing the kunoichi to fold her arms across her chest grumpily.

"Well," Akira said, "_Excuse_ me for being so curt, but I was kidnapped by some freak earlier during my sleep and woke up on a dirt floor. On top of that, I was told that I possibly have only a day to live… along with some person who I've never even met before." At the end of Akira's sarcastic remark, Nagi smirked again.

"Your apology is very much accepted, Okuzaki-chan," he said. "In return for you being _so polite_, I will tell you your location."

"Thank you," Mai said sincerely, before Akira could speak up and blow their chances.

"However," Nagi said, "in my doing so, your time, Akira-HiME, to find your dearest person will be cut in half." Nagi watched as the three young faces before him did one of the following: glare, gape, or chew. "Still want that information?" he asked.

Akira turned to Mai, who in turn stared at Akira. After a short staring contest, Mikoto answered. "Okay," she said, as if it made no difference.

Mai snapped her head toward Mikoto. "Mikoto!!! We didn't discuss it yet!!"

"Too late," Nagi responded. "I already sped the clock up on Miss Okuzaki's timer. You three are in the hills of eastern Japan. More specifically, Fuka… didn't I mention this earlier?"

"I've never even _heard_ of Fuka!" Akira exclaimed, stressed.

"It's about 400 miles north of Tokyo," Nagi stated blandly.

Akira faced Mai. "Where is your brother located?" she asked the busty girl.

"...Tokyo," Mai Tokiha answered. (Author's Note: I don't think they mentioned where Takumi and Mai are from in the series, so I just picked Tokyo. Sorry if this is incorrect!)

"Great! It'll take us forever to get there!"

"That's not too bad," Mai stated, trying to de-stress Akira. "We can get there in 12 hours."

Akira looked at Mai with an "are-you-crazy?" type stare. "Mai," she said, "It would take about eight hours to get there by car! How are we going to get there on time by foot?"

Mai looked shamefully to her shoes. "I…" she started, but was cut off by Nagi's whistling.

"What a _dilemma_," he said, sarcastically. "If only if you acquired some type of _machine_ or a _robot_…." When none of the three HiME's took the hint, Nagi said more bluntly, "You children! I'm talking about your children! Use them!"

"Oh!" Mikoto exclaimed, as if she couldn't believe that she forgot. "Umm… where is my child?" she then questioned Nagi.

Nagi flashed his famous smirk as Akira and Mai sweat-dropped. "You'll find it when you need it," he said. Then, in a puff of smoke, the small man vanished.

Mai sighed. "He really needs to stop with the magic tricks," she said.

"And the mysteriousness," Akira added.

* * *

yeah, like I said, it's short. The plot will pick up though and be much more interesting though.

Comments/ critiques/ reviews are appreciated! Flames, however, are not!!

I'll try updating faster for the next chapter.

Also, I apologize if my geography is incorrect, just go along with it though :)

Thank you!


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone!! Sorry that the last update took a long time, but I have chapter 4 here!! This one is much longer then the last update, I felt that I owed you guys at least that much. However, the update after this one will take a while. I have a ton of midterms/tests/quizzes/projects/reports that are due within the next few weeks so my life will be hectic. So I wanted to make sure that I get this chapter out to you guys ASAP.

This chapter shows all of the himes when they are just starting on their adventure. They all notice the same thing and need to figure out how to fix that problem... Like I said, every hime is shown in this chapter, so if you don't see your favorite at first, they're probably just toward the end of the chapter. (I can tell you right now that Akane is right in the beginning and Shiho is at the very end. Don't go skipping through the chapter to find you favorites, though! You might be lost later on in the story!)

Sorry for my long rampage, on with the chapter!!

I do not own Mai-Hime.

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

Akane Higurashi had been the first to depart from the prison-like area. The moment that the gentle lady had understood everything that Nagi had said, she spoke with the group and then dashed out of the room.

She needs to make it to Kazuya on time.

Miss Higurashi reached into her pocket, pulling out her iPhone. "Good thing I have a map on this thing!" she said to herself. Looking up her location, Akane started to calculate how far she must travel.

Akane felt her jaw fall open when her device failed to recognize the area.

* * *

"Okay," Midori stated loudly. "Youko, I'm coming for you, baby!" the hyper red head hollered to the sky, seemingly. Eager to start her journey, Midori started marching through the field of tall grass, bringing her knees to the height of her hip with each and every step.

The young woman continued her aimless hike for three hours before she stopped and realized that she forgot one key thing.

She had no idea where in the world she was.

Midori halted. Then, out of nowhere, she roared in rage "GAHHHH-KAH-TE-NOOO!!!"

A machine-like creature came charging toward her after her loud noises of gibberish. Staring up at the creature, Midori asked flatly, "Who're you, strange-lookin' dude?" The creature pawed the ground beneath its hoof in response.

The girl's hand reached up to her head, scratching it in puzzlement. "Are you my child?" she asked the thing before her. No reply came. Midori thought to herself for a few minutes. "If you are my child… what did I do to bring you out?"

"A child is called forth when you call its' name… or in a time of desperate need," said a voice behind the in-thought Midori.

"What's my child's name then? I stated no names," Midori replied, turning her body around to find Nagi floating in the air.

Nagi shook his head lightly then crossed his legs. "You most certainly _did_ call your child forth… unknowingly though."

Midori frowned. "Is my Child named Youko, then?"

"No, silly!" Nagi laughed playfully, swatting his hand about. "When you were screaming in anger at nobody, you called your Child forth!"

"So my Child's name is a bunch of gibberish? I don't even know what I said!"

Nagi shrugged. "Just, replay it in your mind." This statement was followed by the pale man's frightening grin. "The life of your precious doctor may rely on it." With that, the strange man disappeared.

"Hey, wait… what?!" Midori called out to the albino man. "GAHHH-KAH-TE-NOOOO!!! HE DISAPPEARED AGAIN!!!!!!!!!"

With that, the Child stood at attention, ready to receive instructions from it's master.

( **Author's Note: **In case you didn't catch it, Midori was unknowingly screaming "Gakutenou" every time she yelled out in aggravation.)

* * *

"Come now, Natsuki, you can't ignore me forever," came the thick accented voice of Shizuru. She and Natsuki have been hanging around the dungeon area for a little around an hour now, and Natsuki had gone mute.

Miss Fujino sighed. The Kyoto girl knew that, by logic, Natsuki had to be her dearest person, and though she found the girl enticing, it would be difficult to get to know the quiet girl if she refused to speak to her.

The honey-haired woman made her way over to where Natsuki sat pondering. Sitting down beside the icy girl, she attempted conversation once more. "Let's start with the basics, Natsuki. What is your full name?"

Natsuki answered shortly, only giving in because she knew that Shizuru would stop at nothing to get her to talk. "Natsuki Kuga."

"Ara, Kuga-san, where are you from?"

"Here."

"Where is 'here', Natsuki Kuga?" Shizuru asked, giggling slightly.

Natsuki, who was looking intently at the dirt ground as she drew pictures with her fingers replied, "The land of Fuka."

"Do you have any relatives, Natsuki?"

Natsuki finally averted her stare from the ground and glared into Shizuru's crimson eyes angrily. "My mother is dead. My dog is dead. I don't know what happened to my father. I have no siblings"

Shizuru looked hurt, though she knew that she had asked Natsuki a rather personal question. "Gomen, Kuga-san." Natsuki merely nodded in response. "Do you wish to talk about it?" Natsuki shook her head no.

Silence fell between the two girls for a couple of minutes. The silence was tense and awkward.

Shizuru finally broke it with a cheery voice, as if no discomfort had happened at all. "How about hobbies? What do you enjoy doing?"

"I like motorcycles," was the blunette's simple reply.

"Ara, that spikes my interest, Natsuki. Do you yourself own one?"

The girl nodded. "A Ducati."

"Perhaps you could show me one day."

"I don't plan to see anymore of you after this crap is done with."

Shizuru felt a sting in her heat at that statement, but shook it off and continued to grin at Natsuki. "Natsuki, we are each other's dearest person. It's not like we'll be close just for this scenario and then continue life as if we don't even know the other. No, Natsuki-chan, we'll be together forever. It was stated in that poem."

Kuga sighed, defeated. "You're beautiful and all, but you kind of scare me."

Miss Fujino's face lit up with giddiness at Natsuki's last comment. "Ara, Natsuki finds me beautiful?" she questioned, in a teasing voice.

"Shi-Shizuru!"

* * *

Fumi exited the dungeon with Sister Yukariko, since they were both headed to the same location- Fuka academy, the center of all of the HiME chaos.

"So," Fumi smiled pleasantly toward the nun to her right, as they walked across the green, grassy fields. "You're dearest person is Ishigami-sensei?"

Yukariko nodded. "Hai," she said, a light smile on her face. "Even though it is against God's wishes." The nun turned her gaze to her moving feet. After being silent for a few moments, the conversation resumed. "And, you're dearest person is the Director?"

The pink haired maid nodded. "Yes. Mashiro-sama."

"Did you know about all of this earlier, then?" the black-clad woman questioned of the pink-clad one.

"Yes, Miss Mashiro had confided in me just before I arrived here. She did not tell me all of the details, though. For example, I do not know what my child's name is."

The Sister stopped in her tracks and placed a hand over her mouth as she gasped. "I don't know what or who my child is, either! What shall we do if something is to happen?"

Fumi walked back over to the now panicked nun. Rubbing Yukariko's back comfortingly, the maid said "Please don't fret, Sister. We are not far from the academy, we can ask Director Mashiro once we arrive there."

Sister Yukariko only nodded, _"I'm suppose to give guidance," _she thought to herself. _"Please, God, please don't be angered."_

_

* * *

_

Nao had stalked right out of the dungeon the second that everyone had stopped blocking the doorway to prevent her from leaving. They had all said something along the lines of "There needs to be some organization!" Screw organization, screw teamwork. This "carnival" or whatever the hell Nagi called it only concerns yourself and your dearest person. The other HiMEs don't need to get involved in another HiME's situation.

So, Nao ventured off into the fields alone.

Before she had left, though, fire-head Midori had managed to shout out to her "Nao-chan, where are you headed?"

Nao had scoffed and replied "Kyoto," before she had quickly left all of the other's behind in her dust.

So, in short, Nao's plan is to travel, alone, to Kyoto hospital and make it in time to her mother. Yes, her dearest person is her mother. No boyfriend or forbidden lover like in Romeo and Juliet or anything like that. Nao never wasted her time getting to know a man, they're all trash anyway, so why bother?

"Fuka. What kind of a name is Fuka? Sounds like it was named by some German guy who was trying to curse."

"Nao-san!" came a voice from behind Nao. Miss Yukki turned around to find the source of the voice. She was quite surprised to see one of the HiMEs running up to her.

Nao glared at the brunette who was now beside her. "Who're you, again?" she questioned.

The girl adjusted the glasses on her face. "Yu-Yukino Kikugawa," she stuttered. "You're headed to Kyoto, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you mind if I travel with you? I'm headed in the same direction."

Nao turned her back on Yukino. "I travel by myself. I don't need company; I don't want it. I fly solo."

Yukino sighed. "Gomen, Nao-san. But I won't be traveling with you the entire time. I'm not aiming for Kyoto, I need to get one town over from there."

"Why can't you voyage on your own?" Nao snapped.

"I-I've never… I'm not the best hiker, Nao-san. If I were to travel lonesome, I'd most likely cause damage to myself in some way."

Nao scowled, weighing out the pros and cons of Yukino tagging along. "Fine," the red head finally concluded. "But don't be too helpless."

Yukino adjusted the glasses on her face. "Arigato gozaimasu, Nao-san."

"Yeah, whatever," Nao muttered as she continued to walk.

* * *

Shiho had been the last one to depart from the dungeon area. This is all just too overwhelming for her, she's only 13 years old for Pete's sake! How can anyone expect a frail girl like her to venture out on her own and save onii-chan's life in just a day?

Plus, the fact that Shiho is completely lost doesn't exactly benefit her. "Fuka," she muttered as she dragged her feet along. "Where is Fuka? Where is my town? …Where is onii-chan?" Miss Munakata continued to wander aimlessly for a while before she finally came to a stop by a tall tree. Exhausted, the pink-haired girl sat down and leaned her back against the strong bark.

Shiho brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them closely to herself. "Where am I?" she whispered silently before she hung her head down on top of her kneecaps and started to cry silently.

"Too late," Shiho eventually heard from elsewhere in the fields after she slowed down her tears. "I already sped the clock up on Miss Okuzaki's timer," the voice said again.

_"That voice… it's Nagi!"_ Shiho concluded. _"And, Miss Okuzaki… that's the loner one, right? What're they doing here?"_

"You three are in the hills of eastern Japan. More specifically, Fuka… didn't I mention this earlier?" Nagi's voice penetrated through the area again.

"I've never even _heard_ of Fuka!" The eavesdropping girl only assumed that to be Akira Okuzaki.

"It's about 400 miles north of Tokyo," Nagi stated blandly.

_"Tokyo, they're headed for Tokyo? That's where onii-chan is!"_ Shiho cheered in her head. "_I can ask Akira-san if I can accompany her on her way to Tokyo! I'll surely make it there on time that way!"_ The conversation rolled on as Shiho congratulated herself for thinking up this new plan.

Then, a fact was pointed out that stole Shiho away from her happy thoughts. "How are we going to get there in time by foot?" she heard Akira's deep voice question.

"I…" was the only response that Shiho heard.

After a few minutes, Nagi started to point out the obvious. "What a _dilemma_," he said, sarcastically. "If only if you acquired some type of _machine_ or a _robot_…."

Silence followed.

"Your children! I'm talking about your children! Use them!"

_"Right…"_ Shiho thought to herself. _"How do we do that, genius?"_

"You'll find it when you need it," Nagi stated slyly.

After Nagi disappeared, Shiho decided to make herself visible to the other himes. "Matte (wait)!" she called out, running to the other travelers.

Mai, Mikoto, and Akira all turned around when they heard Shiho's sudden calls. "That girl…" Akira started to say.

Mai tilted her head to the side. "Shiho-chan?" she questioned.

"Look, Mai, another hime!" Mikoto exclaimed up to Mai. The cat-like girl then looked back toward Shiho, who was almost caught up to the trio by now. "Shiho-chan!" she shouted. "Do you know how to summon your child?"

Shiho continued to run up to the other three himes. "Nope," she answered once she caught her breath again. Then, she stood upright and asked, "Can I travel with you guys?"

Mai and Akira looked at each other, again trying to make a decision telepathically.

"Sure," Mikoto answered. Shiho's face gleamed while Akira and Mai glared silently at the black-haired cat.

* * *

I hope you all liked it!! Commenting is always welcomed!!

Oh, and if you would like, I created a Mai-Hime personality quiz here: .com/quizzes/16045312/which-mai-hime-chracter-are-you-most-like

If you would like to check it out, I would appreciate it. It's fun too!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everyone!! I apologize sooooooooooo much for the long wait. But here's the next chapter!! This is longer than some of the other chapters, to make up for my slow updates, but it's not too long. Please enjoy it!!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Mai-HiME or iPhones. :P

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

"So, any idea how to call forth our children?" Akira asked the small group of travelers about her. She, Mai, Mikoto, and Shiho had agreed upon moving while discussing how to claim their children, since time was really running out.

"No," Mai and Shiho both answered, sadly, while shaking their heads lightly.

"Maybe," Mikoto said with a wide grin, "They'll show themselves if we ask them nicely!"

The three girls with Mikoto all glanced down at her with similar expressions, each one saying something along the lines of "that will never, in a hundred billion years, work". Mikoto didn't capture this though and continued to smile up at the taller girls. "I'll try it first!" she announced. "My dear child, will you please appear for me?"

All was still and silent.

"Child, if you don't come out now, you're grounded!" Mai said loudly, deciding to go along with Mikoto's idea since they had no other ideas.

Still, nothing stirred in the fields.

"Let's just keep moving, we'll find out eventually how to call forth our children."

After about thirty more minutes of walking, the four HiMEs heard singing. "What is that?" they all asked of each other in unison. Then, without words, they all started to run in the direction of the voice. As they drew nearer, the words started to become clearer.

"_Who are lonely young girls in pain?_

_Just trapped in castle on dark side moon?"_

"These are weird lyrics," Akira thought to herself.

"_Twelve of them shining bright in vain,_

_Like flowers that blossom just once in years."_

_Wait- twelve of them? There are twelve HiMEs… is this song referring to us?" Akira thought in her head._

"_They're dancing in the shadows like whispers of love,_

_Just dreaming of place where they're free as dove._

_They've never been allowed to love in this cursed cage._

_It's only the fairytales they believe."_

"Never been allowed to love? Does that mean-"

"OH MY GOD!! THIS SONG IS TALKING ABOUT US!" Mai screeched once the song ceased. Akira glared at Mai for being so loud.

"Who's there?" The group of four stopped in their tracks after hearing a new voice.

"There they are, Miyu," they heard a young voice say. "Dispose of them, we can't have random traveler's knowing of this business."

"I don't think that they are random, Ojou-Sama."

"Who are you? What do want from us? Don't hurt me!" Shiho hollered to the air. "Please, I need to get to my onii-chan!!"

"Stop shouting, you'll hurt Alyssa-sama's fragile ears." While that was being said, two figures appeared before the adventurers.

Mai was flabbergasted. "Wha-how- where did you come from?!"

The grey-haired one replied. "We were here the entire time. We were just invisible to your eye, but we could clearly be heard."

The shorter one with yellow hair spoke next. "You do know that it's rude to eavesdrop, right?"

"W-we weren't eavesdropping!" Mai exclaimed, scared of the two newcomers before her. "We were j-just walking and we heard singing! And umm, it was beautiful singing by the way- PLEASE DON'T HURT US!!"

"We won't hurt you," said the small blonde. "Since you all seem to be who I think you are."

"Who do you think we are, then?" Akira questioned.

The girl with yellow hair smiled. "HiMEs, of course."

The four HiMEs looked at one another, each of them containing the same question in their heads. "How do you know about the HiMEs?" Shiho finally managed to question the blonde. "Are… you a HiME?"

The young child smiled. "I'm not a real HiME, though I was designed to be just like one."

"We have information on all of the real HiMEs," the girl with the cyan hair stated robotically.

"Do you know who our children are?" Mikoto interjected. This spiked the other HiMEs interests and they all stared at the odd pair before them.

The blonde girl smiled. "I do believe that we have that information. Don't we, Miyu?"

"Hai, Alyssa-Sama."

"Can you tell us?" Akira questioned Alyssa.

Alyssa shook her head. "This carnival is, in a sense, a competition. I am not permitted to aid any of the HiMEs, that would be cheating."

"What if you told all of the HiMEs what their children's names are?" Shiho spoke up.

Alyssa seemed to consider Shiho's question for a moment. The black clad child then nodded. "I suppose that if I were to give everyone an equal amount of information, then that would be fair. You would need to find a way of gathering everyone in one place, however. I do not feel like hunting each of the twelve HiMEs down."

Mikoto nodded with enthusiasm. "I'll gather everyone here right now, hm!" With that, Mikoto started calling out, "Would all of the HiMEs please come here now, pretty please?!"

Only a few seconds passed before Mai started to scold Mikoto. "Ora, Mikoto. You can't expect things to happen just because you ask nicely. Especially considering the fact that no one else is probably within ear shot!"

Mikoto shrugged. "I thought it was a good idea," she said.

* * *

Elsewhere, Midori Sugiura's stomach started to itch. "Nani?" she wondered aloud. When the itchiness failed to cease, the hyperactive woman decided to pause.

"This feeling," she wondered. "Could it be a form of telekinesis between HiMEs?" With this thought in mind, Midori called forth her machine-like child. "GAHH-KAHH-TE-NOOOOO!!!"

As Midori's child appeared, the red head hopped onto its back, shouting her orders, "Bring me to the nearest HiME!"

And she was gone in a flash.

* * *

Yukino walked timidly behind Nao, being careful not to trip over the younger girl's heels. This action proved to be difficult, since Yukino had larger feet to begin with and she was constantly tripping on seemingly nothing.

It was very silent between the two young women. They hadn't spoken to each other, aside from when Nao would bitch at Yukino for tripping over and over again. Yukino sighed, generally exhausted from the days events.

Suddenly, Nao spoke up. "There must be poison ivy or something around here, my hand is itching like crazy."

Yukino looked about, and saw no poisonous plants, or any plants for that matter other then trees and tall grass. "I don't think that's it, Nao-san," she timidly piped up while rubbing her elbow.

Nao noticed Yukino's scratching and her curiosity rose. "Are you itchy in just that one spot?" she questioned.

Yukino nodded. "Hai," she said. "Is it only the palm of your hand that is uncomfortable?"

"Yeah," Nao stated, pissed from the fact that she couldn't stop scratching her hand. "Do you think it has something to do with the HiME's?"

"It's the sign of the HiME mark!" came Nagi's voice. Within a few seconds, the albino man appeared before the two HiME's.

"Now what bullshit story are you going to tell us?"

"The itchiness is caused by your HiME mark. The feeling means that all of the HiME's are attempting to be formed together. In short, you have to meet with them soon."

"Umm, where are they all? Where are we supposed to meet with them?" Yukino voiced out to the white haired man.

Nagi shrugged. "Even if I know, I can't tell you!" Then, as suddenly as he had appeared, Nagi vanished.

Nao snorted. "What a worthless piece of crap," she said, referring to Nagi. Then, as she turned to her brunette comrade, she asked, "How do we know that this itchiness has to relate to the HiME's? What if it's just us?"

Yukino adjusted her glasses. "Well," she said, "First of all, Nagi-san informed us that it is related to the HiME issue. But, other then that…" Yukino then noticed something on Nao's hand. "Nao-san, may I see your hand for a moment?"

Nao was taken aback. "Nani? Why do you want to see my hand?" the red head asked while drawing her hand away from her fellow traveler.

Yukino pulled up her sleeve slightly, exposing her now red skin due to her scratching it. Miss Kikukawa showed her arm before Nao. "Does your hand have a mark like this?" she asked, gesturing to the swirled birthmark that rested on her arm.

Nao stared at the mark. "Y-you…" she stammered, bringing her hand up to compare it to Yukino's arm. "They… match." And, indeed, the two teenagers came to realize that they had identical birthmarks on their bodies.

After coming over the brief shock, Yukino found her voice once more. "So, I'm guessing that these are not actually birthmarks." Yukino's glass-covered eyes linked with Nao's unguarded ones. "They are HiME marks."

* * *

"Shizuru," Natsuki grumbled in a warning tone. "Would you stop tickling my back?"

Shizuru held a clueless expression on her face. "Ara, Natsuki? I don't understand."

Natsuki smirked. "Very funny, Shizuru," she stated flatly. "But seriously, it's a little too odd for me."

"Natsuki, I am not tickling you at all. See?" the honey haired woman held up her hands to convince the bluenette that she was innocent.

Natsuki could still feel a tingling sensation on her lower left back, however. "If… it's not you then… what is it?"

Shizuru squirmed slightly. Then she cracked a grin. "I think that Natsuki is pulling my leg," she said.

Natsuki's face grew red. "Nani, what are you saying? I'm not touching your leg!"

Shizuru shook her head. "I meant to say that I think that Natsuki is playing a trick on me. For I feel something tingly on my left side."

Natsuki looked puzzled. "I'm not tickling you, either."

Shizuru seemed disappointed and pouted. "Natsuki doesn't want to tickle me?"

Natsuki blushed yet again. "Shizuru!" the dark haired beauty exclaimed. "This is serious! If neither of us is tickling each other then what's going on?!"

"Natsuki, let me feel your back."

"This is not a time to feel me up!"

"I want to check your back for anything irregular," the Kyokan girl explained herself.

Miss Kuga looked embarrassed, "…Oh," she managed to get out. The younger girl was honestly surprised that Shizuru could act seriously for a moment.

Natsuki obliged, and allowed Shizuru to examine her backside. After a few moments, Shizuru seemed to have found something. "Ara, this is intriguing."

"W-what is it?" Natsuki asked.

"Kuga-san, you have a birthmark here that is very similar to one of my own," the older of the two stated, while showing her own mark to the fellow HiME.

Natsuki appeared bewildered. "Identical birthmarks? Could it be a sign of the-"

"HiME's," Shizuru ended.

* * *

As Fumi Himeno walked through the tall grass, she felt an itch on her right ankle. "There must be ticks present," she thought aloud, dismissing any concerns.

"Ticks, Himeno-san?" Yukariko questioned her companion.

Fumi smiled her charming smile and nodded. "Hai," she confirmed.

The nun looked hesitant for a brief moment. "But, my neck itches. Wouldn't that be a sign of flies, not ticks?"

The pink-haired lady shrugged. "Either way, I'm sure it is nothing." Then, a thought suddenly appeared in the young maid's mind. "Actually, Mashiro-sama did mention something like this." After this statement, Miss Himeno worked hastily on removing her shoe.

Yukariko gasped at the sudden halt in their movement. "Himeno-san?" she questioned the fellow HiME.

Fumi continued to examine her ankle, until she found what she had been searching for. "There it is!" she exclaimed. Then, facing Sister, she sweetly demanded, "Yukariko-san, can I have your permission to examine your neck?"

Yukariko was shocked, to say the least. "W-why?"

Fumi smiled again. "See this mark on my ankle?" she asked, gesturing toward her uncovered foot. Yukariko nodded in response. "This, I believe, is a HiME mark. Each HiME has one somewhere on their body. If my suspicions are correct, your mark should be on your neck, seeing as how that is where you are feeling uncomfortable at the moment."

The nun gave a hesitant nod toward the other HiME, and soon it was revealed that Yukariko, too, had a swirled mark on her neck. "So, all of the HiMEs have this birth mark?" Sister Yukariko tried to clarify.

Fumi smiled sweetly and nodded, "Hai. And I believe that we should all be gathering somewhere right about now."

Yukariko stood still, slightly shocked by Miss Himeno's knowledge on the subject. "Did Mashiro-sama tell you everything about these events?" she questioned the pink haired lady.

Fumi grinned yet again. "She just gave me subtle hints." With that, Fumi took a hold of Yukariko's hand, "Let's try to find them, neh?"

* * *

Akane plopped down on the grass beneath her with her iPhone in the palm of her hand. The teenager started to press buttons rapidly, trying desperately to obtain some type of signal.

"No, please work!! I have to get to… Kazu-kun…." All of a sudden, Akane heard strange (and, not to mention, loud) noises from behind her. Turning around, Miss Higurashi witnessed a blinding light, and was forced to shield her eyes.

A few seconds later, the light dispersed and Akane was able to look up again, only to see Midori standing before her. "Darn, you're the closest HiME?" the red head questioned while searching about herself for other HiMEs.

Akane just continued to sit on the ground, her mouth agape. The young woman was too surprised to respond properly.

Midori shrugged. "Oh well," she said. "I guess now I have a companion to travel with."

Akane, though she still had trouble forming words at the moment, found her voice. "Wh- I… where- what?"

Midori raised an eyebrow at Akane's odd statement. "I'm trying to find all of the HiMEs right now because I think that we're all supposed to be having a meeting," the taller of the two explained.

Akane seemed to have recovered from her previous shock and was able to form a coherent sentence. "What makes you think that we're all supposed to be meeting?"

"Aren't you itchy near a birthmark-type thing?" Midori questioned.

Akane was puzzled. "Can you answer a question with a question?" she asked.

Midori shook her head, "We're getting off the subject," she stated then. Midori then pointed down at Akane. "You are a HiME," she stated. Then, pointing to herself, Miss Sugiura said, "I am a HiME. As HiMEs, we have a few things in common with all of the other HiMEs, too. This similarity is something that I refer to as a 'HiME mark'. This HiME mark is proof that you are an authentic HiME and is located somewhere on a HiME's body. This mark resembles a common birthmark, except for the fact that it has a peculiar swirl-like shape to it. My HiME mark is located on my stomach, where I am currently itchy. Therefore, I will assume that wherever you have an itch at the moment is where your mark is located."

Akane only blinked.

A sigh escaped Midori's lips. "Fine, if you won't say anything, I'll just have to check you for that mark."

"NO!" Akane blurted out suddenly, surprising the red head. "I'll look for it myself," Akane then stated, more calmly.

Midori placed her hands on her hips. "No need, it's on your back." And, indeed, at that moment, Akane felt an itch develop on near her left shoulder blade.

"How did you know?" the brunette asked.

Midori Sugiura shrugged, her hands now placed upon her head. "Lucky guess?" she offered. "Well, we need to get going," after saying that, Midori called forth her child. "GAHH-KAHH-TEE-NOOO!!!" she hollered, scaring Akane.

As the robot-like creature appeared, Midori wasted no time in climbing on top of it. The hyper woman then offered her hand to Akane, "Hop on," she said. "We need to find the others."

Akane stared apprehensively at the large animal, but then decided that she could trust Miss Sugiura and, within a few moments, the two HiMEs teleported away.

* * *

There you have it!! Reviews are very much appreciated, as well as helpful criticism. However, if you flame it, I will ignore it, so don't bother with that.

I'll try to get the next update up faster then this one, but I can't make promises :)


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